The Big Black Comedy Show, Vol. 1

According to the press release, this is "perfectly timed for Black History Month," which is how the money people are trying to market this concert film featuring a slew of standup comedians, including Vincent Morris, Rod Man, Chris Spencer, Esau, and Sexy Marlo. Black they may be, but the ghosts of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman are surely weeping, as there's nothing triumphant or celebratory here. Not in the repetitious jokes about men, women, and relationships that you've heard a hundred times before. Not in the cesspool of racial, ethnic, and gender stereotypes: Jews are rich, women are gold diggers, Mexicans are somehow hilarious simply by their very existence, etc. Not in the scatological "observational" humor about toilet paper and the nasty defecation side effects of a certain popular drug for erectile dysfunction. And certainly not in the nonstop "cussing" that host Mo'Nique warns us, in her introduction, will be on tap. If there's anything victorious in seeing anyone being referred to as a "crazy nigga" or "muthafuckin bitch," I'm not able to see it. Regardless, this is likely to be popular with fans of contemporary comedy, so consider it an optional purchase (just don't put it in a "Black History Month" display). Aud: P. (M. Johanson)